Noah cast off:

Joakim Noah was out of the cast, but his surgically repaired right thumb still was heavily bandaged Tuesday at the Berto Center. That didn't stop him from working on some left-handed dunks.

"He just basically did some conditioning, some shooting, some dummy offense, some closeouts," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "That's been about it. Not too much more. I'm hopeful that he can do a lot more than that (on the road trip)."

Thibodeau expects Noah to return after the all-star break, which would mean a Feb. 23 game at Toronto.

Thibodeau takes honor:

Tom Thibodeau was named Eastern Conference coach of the month for January, when he led the Bulls to a 12-4 record.

New Orleans' Monty Williams was the West coach of the month. Thibodeau turned down the Hornets job last summer before being hired by the Bulls.